Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has been unsuccessful in clearing her name of serious corruption findings in a decision handed down at the NSW Court of Appeal on Friday.
Chief Justice Andrew Bell maintained findings the former state Liberal leader breached public trust through her covert romance with disgraced party colleague Daryl Maguire.
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption previously delivered a bombshell report in June 2023 that concluded Berejiklian engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” because of the undisclosed relationship.
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ICAC deemed the corrupt conduct included her sitting on a cabinet committee tasked with considering millions of dollars worth of funding arrangements which Maguire was pushing for his Wagga Wagga electorate.
During Berejiklian’s NSW Court of Appeal bid, her barrister Bret Walker SC argued the personal relationships of ministers did not automatically equate to corruption.
“Our ministers are not members of enclosed religious orders,” he told three judges during hearings in February.
But ICAC barrister Stephen Free SC argued there was a rational foundation for finding Berejiklian had been influenced by her desire to maintain or advance her relationship with Maguire.
Berejiklian has consistently rejected the ICAC findings, arguing she has always worked her hardest in the public interest.
More to come …
– With AAP
